The price of gas in Italy without excise it is among the lowest in Europe. After weeks of fuel price controversy, the data is once again belying the narratives. The Meloni government had feared hypotheses of speculation on prices to distributors, introducing new features in the transparency decree. The petrol stations trade associations responded with a strike, which was later scaled back. The latest bulletin published by the European Commission on petrol and diesel prices in EU countries removes all doubts: in Italy there is no speculation on fuel prices. It is taxes that make the difference and they certainly do not depend on the market.
How much does petrol cost in Italy without excise duties
Every week the European Commission publishes a Bulletin on petroleum products with consumer prices in EU countries. Data and prices for each country are communicated to the Commission on Wednesdays and published on Thursdays. In Italy, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy collects the data communicated by every single petrol station in the country. There is no doubt in the latest bulletin of the EU Commission: the price of petrol in Italy is among the lowest on the continent.
According to the latest bulletin from the European Commission, the price of fuel net of excise duties in Italy is below the EU average. Petrol costs 77 cents a litre, while diesel is 91 cents, lower than the EU and Eurozone average of over 81 cents for petrol and around 99 cents for diesel. According to the weekly surveys of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, prices net of taxes have even dropped in the last period compared to the previous months, as can be seen from the graph below.
The real cost of petrol: excise taxes change everything
The increase in petrol and diesel prices evident for those refueling at petrol stations throughout the country is not due to alleged “speculation”. The weight of the excise duties reintroduced by the Meloni government on fuels have brought prices upwards, as could be expected. If we consider taxes, and therefore also excise duties, everything changes: Italy becomes one of the countries in Europe where it is more expensive to buy petrol and diesel. For the latter, the average price was recorded at 1.88 euros, among the highest in Europe.
For petrol, in Italy the average price including taxes and excise duties is instead 1.83 euros.
In fact, fuel taxes in Italy weigh more than elsewhere, as can be seen from the map below, again from the EU Commission.
As far as petrol is concerned, taxes and excise duties account for 58 per cent of the final price, while for diesel the percentage drops to 51 per cent but still constitutes more than half of the price at which it is then purchased at distributors. In addition to being clear, the data is freely available and leaves no room for interpretation: in Italy there is no speculation on fuel prices.